Whiter Shade of (K)night
by ThatSplendidJerk
Summary: Out of the fifteen Super Duper High schoolers, no one conveys more mixed feelings than Byakuya Togami. If he was taught what feelings are, he might've agreed. Language normal, usual Togami jerkiness. Slice of life-ish pre-despair Togami-centric, origins, canonical universe. some ToFu and interactions. Lost years, and not, coming back.
1. Prince of Thorns

**Whiter Shade of(K)night I - Danganronpa **

His upbringing, contrary to common belief, had been everything but a bed of roses.

He was born under the premise of great expectations for his future. A heavy burden was placed in his shoulders when he was barely an infant in his shaky knees, struggling to stand up.

He was raised to be an heir, and not just _any heir_. The presumptive heir of the most conspicuous conglomerate in the world. His surname was not just a surname. It was _the_ surname that sent the CEO's of the biggest companies in the world cowering in a corner.

And of course, his name would not be just a mere name. It would be _the name_. The most powerful man in the world was in the making. Just you wait, world.

There was nothing ordinary, in fact, there will _never_ be something ordinary about this baby boy in the ornate, golden cot.

Since he was old enough to hold a pencil, he had been learning about stock exchanges, claims, taxes, how to fill a check, not in a singsong, playful way, but in a cold, business-like fashion.

And he was familiar with bonds and values. Not _human_ bonds and values, but the volatile _business_ kind of bonds and values.

He was barely six years old when he was able to place a Bering oil barrel shipment bid on the stock market, and not just that, make profit from it. Some of the elders in the family brushed it off as a case of beginner's luck, but the child could felt their rather haughty eyes, usually filled with contempt, shift to him with something akin to praise. They knew fully well that the feat he had accomplished wasn't something they could only accomplish with luck. It had to be – it just _had_ to be – pure raw talent.

He learned to despise luck, as a result. Luck negated his efforts. It wasn't a byproduct of his high and noble status, but a sheer trait_everyone_ was supposed to possess, even the most insignificant unicellular being had some. Something that was for _everyone_ just wasn't something he aimed to apply to himself.

He also learned quite easily to replicate that stare, practicing in front of the mirror until he was satisfied. Contemptuous, mirthless laughter came as easily, too. His daily lessons included speech classes to learn to control his voice pitch and intonation, which soon came to match his cold, arrogant demeanor. His whole body posture and face expression morphed to that of an accomplished poker player, his voice never rose over a freezing, slurred monotone speech, so mean, it was reputed to dry off plants if addressed.

Servants knew better than to interfere with their young charges' education, and his bragged about their progresses in the business field to rival servants, yet still they displayed open concern when away from his vicinity. His life was bare of human warmth and relationships. His infancy was likewise void of toys and games. The stockmarket was his playground, and bonds were his toys. Literally. The boy learned soon enough that _bonds_ – the market ones and the human ones alike – could be bent to his will, and he quickly learned how to make them both work for his advantage.

He had learned to worship his family, to feel honored he was a part of such a conglomerate, to take pride in his family name. Yet still he didn't love his kin in the traditional sense. He understood well enough he was in a sea of sharks, that displaying feelings for others could spell disaster for his plans. That, when the moment came, it would be dog eat dog, and _he'd_ be the dog who came up on top.

For all the pride he felt on being a prospect for leadership, he learned to despise those whose upbringing was below his own. He began taunting others as a way to test his limits and theirs, and was delighted with the results. He sent others reeling from self-confidence to the realization of being no more than a worthless worm.

_Omoshiroi… omoshiroi desu ne… _

Taunting was the way to go. One could even break someone's self-esteem with that! From flying on the skies as butterflies, to learning they were at the very best _moths_, to snivelling to the floor as _slugs_. Only by telling them _the pure naked truth_fair and square!

He was sure of his worth, and even surer of the unworthiness of everyone around him. Deemed as heartless, manipulative, contemptuous, he shrugged off those adjectives as what they were: the product of worthless tongues and lips. He could speak as he chose, for he was one among the chosen. The pick of the litter. A superior species in the evolution track. Greatness come alive.

Not a problem to him if others felt envious or edgy, they will _never_ become like him, and they will _never_ claw their way up to or grasp the heights he lived in, even with their words.

When the moment came for him to pick everyday clothes, his taste drove him inmediatly to business suits. It was something automatic, of course, pretty much an extension of his education. Jeans and informal clothes didn't seem to project the image of himself he desired to convey. Leave that to the _commoners_. He was a _patrician_, and you are treated based on how you look.

If only _that_ was all there was to it!

But he wasn't only talented or bitchy or contemptuous, not only business driven, cold-hearted and tauntful, not only elegant, scheming and resourceful… he was also handsome, though his haughty manners gave him the overall fascination of a drift-away iceberg…

That, of course, was intended. Beauty comes side-by-side with success, just natural. _Not only successful, but envy-attracting_. That should be the profile of the scion of a family like his.

Someone everybody would aim to imitate, but none could actually reach.  
Many girls who hasd attempted to close in -of course, knowing he was a potential scion - were shovelled away, some of them as lucky as to retreat with some self-esteem left...

Considering the ways of his family business, the icyness of his interactions with girls would only mean good. After all, the heir would have not one, not two or six or ten children, but as many as he could, not one or two or six or ten wives, but as many as he deemed worthy of mixing his chosen blood with. Feelings or becoming too familiar with any of them would ruin the principle for continued success that has driven his family so far. Love was but a _thorn_ in the side of business.

When the awaited fated day came, fifteen of the chosen ones gathered in the entrance of the family manor. The culmination of an education based in encouraging gaining and avoiding losing had finally come. Clad in expensive business clothes, sober as men and women twice their age, the youngsters stared at each other with the mere corner of the eye. Each of them a well of wealth, backed with the best education and upbringing possible, but now mere pawns in the big board of life.

Only one king or queen would achieve a checkmate.  
Every one of them a potential king or queen.

Thirty eyes, belonging to both male and female, beautiful as they were cold, in young faces old as the world itself, looked into one another. Lives lived in distant countries, their upbringing, however, trimmed exactly the same. Opal gems of green and grey and almond and blue and violet, crystal clear and devoid of human emotion, expressions that echoed the long years of preparation and asserted their self-worth in so many levels.

Yet his own, ice on ice and stone on stone, did not even blink as he swept his pupils around like a winter blizzard, unsettling the others, who flinched. It was slight, yet the boy, the youngest of them all, didn't miss it.

They didn't think much of him, given that his life had run for less years than theirs? Well, then he'd show them what he thought of them…

_Omoshiroi… omoshiroi desu ne… _

A sadistic, self-amused smirk lit his face with an icy, eerie light of mirthless joy.

_Younger doesn't equal unexperienced. At the very least, younger means __**I **__have more time than __**you**__ to succeed._

Let me see how you like, my dear fellow, what I, the younger one whom you hold in contempt, have in store for _**you…**_


	2. Success is Life Itself

**Whiter Shade of (K)night II**

The young scion prospect wiped the sweat from his forehead with an elegant Holland handkerchief.

Right in the spot, he had been right in the spot.

All the others despised him, looking at him from over the shoulder, just because he was younger and wouldn't risk too much.

That is what they thought. They didn't know how much he would put on the line to win.

All the exams had their own difficulty. One of them, particularly, had been life-threatening. He had to finish a complex and detailed stock exchange operation in 20 minutes, and use an electro card to leave before minute 21, because then a vacuum would take out all the air in the room. He could feel the engine of the vacuum working since the start, at first just a mere background rumble, and by minute 15, when he rose to leave, he already started to feel dizzy.

Several of the other youngsters had passed out, trying to finish in time. He himself spent several minutes locked in the bathroom, vomiting.

There were also physical exams, to see how well could the candidates defend themselves in the face of danger. A couple of the best martial arts dojos lent their experienced fighters and were told not to go easy. To cap it all, the youths were not foretold which specialist they were facing, they had to find out what the sport was and which rules were allowed to defeat them.

His turned out to be, in order, Aikido, Arnis, Jeet Kune Do, Taijistu and Wushu. He figured out the sport before receiving much damage, besides some kicks and grazes, and used his reflexes and training to send down his opponents. Nevertheless, after exiting with a normal pace, he had to limp to his room and apply cold compresses to his feet, his limbs aching all over.

Next came the negotiation panels, which were equally as dangerous. He had to remain seated, calm and composed, and solve an intrincate failed transaction without losing his cool. He had to breathe rhythmically, not make too many gestures or move around in discomfort, because his chair was strategically set on the very edge of a cliff…

Of course, there was a net, but the net could also break…

There were a variety of exercises that combined knowledge with instinct. On one of these tests, a murderer was sent to his room while he was asleep. The boy rose from his bed, the smirk of a wolf carved in his pale, lanky face, holding a Beretta gun. He knew someone was in his room, as he had the precaution of setting a bell tied to his door before going to sleep. He had also gone to sleep clutching his glasses, a byproduct of the toll his life of reading, studying and planning had taken in his eyes. In his silky pajamas, the wild smirk on his lips, the boy held the gun steady with just one hand. He knew it contained only pepper gas, his hand at the ready to grab the blanket with the other hand and cover his mouth and nose.

The assassin backed out towards the door, his eyes full of the boy's mirthless eyes. He reported that the youngest candidate was _one damn tough cookie._

Other tests were simpler, but designed to test coordination. He had to park a Ferrari inside a horse shed without damaging it. If he lost the whole exam, he would've devoid of means to pay for the expensive mechanic the Ferrari required. He would, then, become a servant in his own household for life… devoted to the one who came on top.

He needed no further spur. Green with bile, teeth grinding at the mere thought of such humiliation, the boy drove the car with one hand, his eyes full of spite to the brim, and achieved a perfect parking in one try.

He was, of course, tested in general cultural subjects, but a metal chain was sealed to his wrist in order to provoke a slight electric charge in case his reply was incorrect. He only missed twice, but he felt the full impact on his heart while exiting. The charges allowed three chances of error, but by the third, the cumulative toll of the shocks meant you wouldn't possibly answer and would pass out.

He was interrogated again and again on the principles of the group, sometimes waking him up when he had just dozed over, still in his pajamas as he spoke. Other times, the questions were held with him fully dressed in the shower, the water and the sleepiness conspiring against his sense of hearing.

_Ghhh… I'm really putting my life in the line here!_

Taking a pill from the cabinet, he took a glass of water, sniffed it beforehand, and swallowed it. Just gingseng with aspirin, but nonetheless heart-relieving. Taking off his glasses, he wiped them thoroughly, breathing hard.

But that was the game of his life. It made everything all the most worthwhile. He would get to the top no matter what, with his own bleeding hands. Even if he had to lose a limb...

_I'm enjoying it.  
Thoroughly, blissfully, enjoying it._

He set his bed to sleep, the last day before the final match. Only five had qualified, only one would hold the crown. He would make sure it was his, and his grip on his glasses tightened a little.

On the last exam, everything was on the line, including his own life. He had to dive into a 3 meter deep pool and pick the coins he was asked for, recognizing them by sight only. All while still in his business suit. He wasn't allowed to pick air until he rose with a coin in his grip. After the fourth coin, he was going on pride only, one hand pushing furiously his glasses to his eyes to avoid losing them, the other lunging towards the coins, feet tensing to hold his shoes in place.

Next, still dripping wet, he had to take a written exam with an ink pen, avoiding to wet the paper or the table, as it contained chemicals that reacted to liquids such as blood, urine, water or sweat.

Pulling his sleeves back, he managed to complete the exam, rise from the table, exit the room… and start shivering violently. Brushing away the servants who had come to his master's aid, he rummaged his pockets to pick the electro ID key, stripped naked, ran a towel through his body and hair and managed to get into his bed.

Fever... that was it, huh? He was getting sick… was it true that he was too young to have gone through this nightmare?

The door opened several hours later. The boy's half open eyes looked towards the door, and in hastily producing his glasses, he saw he was in his pajamas. The sour taste of medicines in his tongue told him he had been nursed while unconscious. Ashamed of having been so helpless, he half-sat in his bed to discover, in the dim light of dawn, a familiar face.

-Bya-kun… I'm so proud of you. Now rest, I won't leave your side just yet.  
-Mother…?

He hadn't seen his mother ever since his education began. A horrible thought crossed his mind for the very first time. Wait, did this mean it was all over? They had decided on an heir, and his mother was there to take him into exile, the fate of the defeated?

-What… did they tell you.  
-Yes indeed. And I saw it with my own eyes. I'm proud beyond any measure, Bya-kun… I always knew you had it in you.

And it dawned on him. He had won.

A sweet smile drew on his mother's lips, and she hugged him, tenderly. He knew what would come next. His mother would leave as soon as the sun was up, like a ghost with the rooster's song. She would step aside, basking on his son's glory, never a bond or a place to turn when things went dire. She would only appear if he was sick, at the moment of his official marriage, and as a counselor to the women he picked to have children with. Such was the fate of all the women of a Togami heir, and mothers of potential scions. They had almost as much control over their progeny's lives as a pureblood mare over its foal.

And sure enough, his last memories of his mother were interred in the dizziness of a fever. She left after giving him medicine, caressed his hair one last time, and was gone.

He didn't suffer much. His mother was but a stranger to him, yet he understood he had to feel something, just what, he didn't know. It wasn't in the set of skills he had been taught.

He heard his name being called from outside the door. Still feverish, he rose from bed, shouting "Coming!" while he scrambled into his suit once again.  
He made an effort to walk with his usual arrogance, paying no mind to anxious servants asking if he wanted to call a doctor, while he advanced towards the main hall.

_Leave that to you lot. A Togami needs no doctor._

-So you're here. Good. How's your fever?  
-No need to pay it any mind, Father – he replied, fastening his glasses against his eyes.  
-That's my boy. Well, _omaera_ – his tone had gone cold as his son's – pay attention to this face… the first Togami Group heir to win the Heir Competition being the youngest!

There was no applause. The young heir scoffed.

-From this day on, my youngest son is to be appointed the heir of the Togami Group, having passed all the tests with flying colors, winning over older candidates. Remember this name, as it'll be etched in your lives from this moment on. The one that surpassed you all… **Byakuya Togami-kun!**

The blonde, bespectacled teen didn't even look at them. His lids were half-closed, not out of arrogance, but due to exhaustion. Also, it was pitiful to see all the other Togamis losing their cool. Some even cried. _That is nerve-racking, accept defeat quietly, you has-beens._

-Go to sleep now, Byakuya-kun, you have earned it. The rest of you lot has ten minutes to pack and leave. Leave the electro keys with my secretary, she will collect them all, and you'll have to pay them if they're damaged. Take whatever you want from the mansion, granted you can pick it with your own hands. You will not be allowed to take any servant with you. Your life within the Togami Group is over.

The fate of the drop-outs. Painful to watch, painful to feel. Some of them, he could see, would be cripples for life, others were so broken by defeat, they would never enter business again. Natural: he had trodded on top of all of them, atop the peak of a mountain created by their sweat and blood: as a result, he would not waste that sacrifice and be the best heir the Group had ever had. Also for their sake. _Good blood does not go to waste, it's simply bested by better blood._

A doctor was already in his room when he returned. His glasses were removed for the time being. He was granted bedrest for three days, as he was so dizzy and exhausted he could barely move. The whole month of tests had been no joke, even for a boy with his health. He was, however, given lessons through an MP3 player. At his level, a heir had practically no free time, even when sick.

And that was how he, Byakuya Togami, became the famed **Super Duper High School Scion…** though he would rather use **Super Duper High School Self-made Scion** or something conveying that idea.

Because he was not, thanks goodness, a pampered little heir.

He had arrived to the top after years and years of sacrificing his infancy, then his youth, and he had navigated the rivers of hell to become what he was now.

And he wouldn't be a mere **scion.** Watch and learn, world. He would become the creator of the pinnacle of success for the Togami Group. Never before nor after him, anyone would reach such heights.

With a self-satisfied smirk ,he curled to sleep through his last night of sick leave. The following would be his first day in the Group's headquarters, and he would need his rest for sure.

_Forgive me, Father, but it's the law of this game. Father is surpassed by son, but no son of mine, mark my words, will ever surpass__** me**__._


	3. One Plus One is Three

**Whiter Shade of (K)night III**

He had brushed her shoulder upon entry at Hope's Peak, making her stumble.

She had dropped all her work-in-progress on the floor, earning an icy, mirthless stare from the offender.

He didn't stop by, but she could hear his fleeting remark while he left: _Oy, you wretched worm, stop hogging the entrance with those useless books of yours… I bet you just bring them to stand over them, you damn shorty…_

She bit her finger, her "Sorry" lost in the wave of first-year students making their way into the academy. His target was already gone by the time she spurted it out.  
Her hand felt the scissors under her skirt, as she bit her lip, whispering mean words towards the arrogant blonde.

She would make him pay. Oh would he pay dearly his looking at her from over his shoulder…

-

Rooms had been assigned, and many students were either resting or reporting home, talking with excitement about the first day of high school.

She exited her room, her grey eyes now lit with bloodlust and insanity. Just sneezed from a provoked tickle on her nose with one of her large braids. Her tongue, lashing the air, got his scent, and headed towards the haughty scion's room.

Both, by pure coincidence, had their rooms a mere turn away from each others, in a quite isolated corridor, being that both avoided the company of other people.

And in said corridor, there he was.

He was distracted talking on his cellphone. Easy prey for a hunter. He would make a oh so pretty corpse, she usually didn't take souvenirs, but a handful of his silky blond hairstrands would be wonderful to sniff at while she planned her next crime.

She approached, feeling the bloodlust mount. The boy turned round, cellphone still in his ear, taking her in with those eyes of his.

_Wha… what?_  
There was no fear… no cowering… no attempt to escape…  
_Nan dayo?_

-I see. Look, I have some pressing matters over here. I'll call you later, no, I don't need anything for the time being. _Ja né._

She wanted to lick her lips to savour the scene, yet her long, snake-like tongue refused to move. He – the handsome blonde boy – was walking towards her. Not away. **TOWARDS.**

She made a motion with the scissors, but it came out so half-hearted, it earned only a jeering snort from his would-be victim.

_The hell is wrong with me?_  
-_Omae._ The hell is wrong with you?  
_HUH?_

His voice came out, spiteful, venomous, arctic...

- How dare _you_ come to me and interrupt my business? How dare _you_… looking like this, smelling like this, hell, even _breathing_ like this? Is this a school or a freak show, I wonder?

The coldness. Where did that icy wind come from? Was it a window… no, she knew it full well… it was his doing.

-Why is it that trash doesn't know their place is in the garbage bin? You saw me and you thought I was a suitable robbery victim, didn't you?

-Haaaaaaah? Me a thief? Don't you know when to shake and tremble in fear, you _jerk_?

-**Jerk?!** – He had come across that word, but never directed to him. The others were jerks, he wasn't. He had never, ever, been insulted in such a way.

-Gahahahahahahahah! Exactly, exactly! I don't steal money, what I steal are lives! For my name – my true, real name – is **Genocider Shou**!

She made a couple of steps forward, producing a second set of sharp scissors. The scion cursed inwardly. Those were fearsome weapons, moreso in the hands of a psychopath. His mind, clear enough to think under pressure, remembered the sadism of the Genocider Shou murders. Only then, he realized she had walked forward to pin him against a wall.

-Not all lives, of course. Only _pretty boys's lives_, like _yours_.

Regaining confidence, she thrust her hand to the side to gain momentum and slash through his wrist…

But as she did, his hand moved out of harm's way…  
… and grabbed her wrist.

_He's… trying to twist my wrist so that I drop the scissors!  
This is not an ordinary twist… this is a martial-art trick…_  
-Tsch!

She looked up to meet his eyes, and froze.

She, Genocider Shou, froze.

For the icy bluegreen eyes that stared at herself from his superior height were alight with a demonic glow. And… no, not possible… he was smirking… just the same way a wolf smirks… tensing the mouth at the sides and showing his hungry teeth.

-Heh. Never knew I would find this academy interesting enough. It has everything, even a _Super Duper High School Satsujinken…_  
-Ghhh… what's wrong with you? Aren't you afraid in the slightest?  
-_Me?_ – Taunting, taunting, taunting voice and tone - Afraid? Of the likes of _you_?

-Yes! You should be, you oughta be, you're cornered and I can… no, I will… kill you! No matter which words come from that pretty mouth, those lips will soon be rotting…

-**Yamero.**  
-HUH?  
-I said stop it. I won't die. I cannot die. Not at the hands of someone like you. I'm way over the poor brainless drones you killed before. I'm not ordinary human being – call me, if you will, a superior echelon of that disgrace known as mankind. Be grateful I'm still holding that wretched dirty wrist of yours, Fukawa, was it?

-**DO NOT CALL ME LIKE THAT!** Little miss gloomy is herself… I'm eons away from such scum!

A wolf's howl had more warmth than the boy's laughter.

-Aaaah, I detect some pride in there… amusing for a mere personality to disown the body it lives in! Though I wouldn't blame you… with a body like yours, that reeks of blood stench, _anybody_ would be tempted to disown it.

Trembling in rage, Genocider found herself dropping her scissors. The jeers, the coldness… here it was, a soul akin to hers… someone who despised the entire world more than she herself did. That world that had given her so much pain… also contained this young, handsome individual.

In spite of herself, she backed, tongue flipping like a flag in the wind.

_T-this guy… _  
- You know, I 've heard your name before, both as Fukawa and Genocider. _Omoshiroi desu né…_ so you have two claims to fame, _Super Duper High School Writer_ and _Super Duper High School Satsujinken… _  
-**I SAID DO NOT PUT ME ON THE SAME BASKET AS THAT IDIOT!**

He ignored her remark.

-You can have ten or more titles, you'll never have one that… I won't say surpasses, but even comes _close_ to mine. I bet you already know my name as well.

His height stood over her crouching frame, an icewall of pure despise.

- This is a rare treat I'm allowing you to have, take it as such. Usually garbage doesn't get my attention in the slightest, yet… this is a rewards for having the guts of confronting me so carelessly.  
-**I WASN'T CARELESS!**  
-Oh, you weren't? – again the wolfish smirk – Then why am I unhurt, Miss _Satsujinken?_Because you allowed me to…  
-**THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING? YOU WERE LUCKY TO AVOID MY ATTACK!**

-_Don't give me luck, you filthy murderer..._

Togami's reply was rageful and fierce as much as it was collected.

– Slowass attacks like yours, I can read, fight and win with my hands tied to my back. You will _never_ overcome the likes of me… that has been trained in a number of things you can't even fathom, since _before_ I can even remember it! I already won over the very best to be concerned over the likes of… a despicable murderer…!

Shio bit her thumb in rage. _This guy is no easy prey… _  
-Don't give me that – she slurred, clacking her scissors open rhythmically. – You were born to die, for what other purpose otherwise, Mr Icecube?

-To distrust the world, to fight for my life, to win every stake and venture, to top the chosen… that's why I was born. Not to die at the hands of muck like you.

He smirked again, as to cover the rage the mention of luck had bought onto him.

-This leaves only my introduction, then. **I'm Byakuya Togami, Super Duper High School Scion… and I can't say I'm pleased to meet you. **

Icy eyes stared into bloody pupils with such intensity, the wave of cold air intensified around Shou.  
-Now get out of my way, or my next move will be breaking your wrist until you die from internal hemorrhage.

Togami let go of her unarmed wrist with a snort, and at the same time, Shou sneezed from the amount of freezing air coming from the heir's remarks.

The ice-cold eyes of the scion were left staring down to the now harmless, grey pupils of Touko Fukawa.

-**Sou ka.** So you come back to yourself after sneezing. How cliché.  
-What…w-what happened?!  
-Nothing much . – Togami pointed towards the scissors on the floor, mockful despise in his tone - I just had a little chat with… what was it? Ah, yes… Genocider Shou.

Fukawa's face screwed into anguish, her eyes bouncing through the scion's limbs to spot the place where Shou's scissors might've pierced him.

-N…nnn….no! A-are you alright? Are you hurt? – Fukawa grabbed anxiously Togami's suit, but froze under the piercing stare of the blonde's rageful eyes.

-_TAKE YOUR FILTHY HAND OFF MY CLOTHES._

-O-oh… I didn't… I'm sorry…  
-You little no-brains scum… Do you know that your _whole pay for a year_ won't cover _half_ the expenses of this suit?  
-I… am… s-s-sorry… butbutbut are you okay?

Mirthless laughter came from his mouth. Again.

-I'm fine, of course. I daresay, she was never a threat to the likes of me. Now let go of me, I've had enough time taken from me by the likes of you and your other you…

-B-but wait… I… I … didn't mean her to disturb you!  
"You"? Haven't I told you my name already?! I'm to be addressed by my name only – Togami's back was facing the distressed Fukawa.

-N-no… I… we… haven't been introduced to you…  
-Good grief, give me a _break_, me introducing myself twice in a day and to the same little nobody… Right. So you claim you don't remember what just happened…  
-N-n-no! Of course not! Me and… t-th-that thing… don't share memories!  
-_Omoshiroi desu ne…_- again the cold laughter – Amusing to the core. Well, here goes, and you should thank me for wasting words with you_twice_. **I'm Byakuya Togami, Super Duper High School Scion… and I'm ****_less than pleased_**** to make your acquaintance.** Now _move_, you're staining the carpet!

A stone-frozen Fukawa allowed Togami to pass in a mix of awe and bliss.  
_Hello? It's me again, yes, I'm done here… now, about that shipment… _  
His voice died as he walked past her and away from her view, towards his room.

She started to laugh, a silly, girlish laughter. Now that was what she had secretly wished for… a boy that wasn't afraid of Genocider, that could free her from its influence. Now she knew what her novel heroins felt.

He had gone and done it, set it in motion with his behaviour, and now there was no step back.  
She was all butterfly-tummied, fluttery, giddy inside, madly in love with Byakuya Togami.


	4. I'll Make Myself at Home

**Whiter Shade of (K)night IV**

Kibougamine's class 78 was to become Togami's new environment, which upset the contemptuous heir in many way than one. First of all, it was the very first time than the competitive blond wasn't set together with peers or equals, but with an assorted menagerie of creatures he had never thought he'd meet.

To be sent to school… _he,_ the cream-on-top-of-the ice-cream, the elite over the elite… seemed like an utter waste of his time. After all, he had been homeschooled and tutored all his life, and he had always proven he was brilliant. Sure those ridiculous high-school-level assignments would take time off his business planner...

He was infuriated to learn he would be coping with school without a secretary or aide, and that he would have to take the assignments in a classroom with other people. He flinched… the stench of cheap cologne and fake perfume and low-class makeup and commoner sweat and – that was so _disgusting!_ Why couldn't he use a private room like the one he was used to be tutored in?!

Just not everything about his coming to school alone was that disgusting. He wasn't bothered by small tasks such as making his bed, brushing his suits or dressing himself: after all, he was taught to be self-sufficient to a great degree since he was tiny. Even his household personnel knew better than to try and meet his severe standards: boy, was he _picky_ with the way servants treated his clothing… and his rage outbursts weren't something to take lightly!

In short: Togami Byakuya was far from being pleased. He only complied because it was Hope's Peak, and it would add another badge to his plethora of decorations.

On his very first day, he managed to barely avoid being hit by a baseball as he entered the classroom. On a corner of the room, a big guy with dreadlocks was loudly fortune-telling a group of equally loud and laughing students.

One of them turned round at him and spoke the unconceivable words:  
-Oh hi! Come join us, we're having fun with Yasuhiro-kun over here.

Togami's full frame tensed, and the excitement of the group came to a halt.

-Who gave you the right to call me over with a "oh, hi!"? Know your place, boy.

Instead of flinching or moving away, or even acknowledging he was in front of a superior being, the boy smiled at him. That was some display of cheek, he conceded.

-I'm sorry about that!  
-Hmph. You sure _should be,_ whatever your name is.  
-Ah, right! My name is Makoto Naegi, I'm sure we can become good friends.

Togami smiled at the boy's extended hand, but it was his token cruel, wolfish smile. More like an automatic, defensive gesture in front of commoners's naivety. The sort of gesture that never failed to make his servants cower in front of him.

-I said _whatever your name is… __**I didn't ask for your name, did I?**_  
-W-well, not _really _– Naegi looked flustered – But I guess, if we're going to be friends… that's the first step.  
-_That's twice._- Ice cracked in his cruel voice.  
-C-come again?  
-You mentioned the word friends **twice** in my presence… You sure like taking liberties with your upper-classmen. Do you even _know_ who you're talking to?  
-Er… uhm… ehhhh… n-not really… - Naegi seemed taken more and more aback by the minute.  
-_Togami Byakuya-kun, is it?_

Twin pigtails appeared at one side. Togami moved his head slightly aside to catch a glimpse of the weird being who had said his name. In a corner, Fukawa was biting her lip with a passion.

-Celestia Ludenberg, pleased to make your acquaintance. And here I was thinking that this school didn't have interesting people in it. People with true royalty, so to speak.

Togami tensed even more, if that was possible. His icy blue eyes shone with irritation at the royalty wannabe, that mere plebeian who dared liken herself to the likes of him. Still, at least she was aspiring to something better than her commonplace everyday dumminess.

-_I don't know who gave you permission to speak out my name so freely._ Yes, I'm Byakuya Togami, it's good that at least one of you is literate enough to know my name.

He scoffed, aware of the discomfort he was sowing, and enjoying it thoroughly.

– Now… I have quite serious business to attend, _contrary to you all,_ so I take my leave from the likes of you.  
He turned halfway round, arms at the waist.

-And _you,_ the guy with the goatee. Learn how to control that stupid ball of yours, or quit playing with it altogether. You're a nuisance.

With that, Togami walked away from the group, snorting, thoroughly annoyed at the childish behavior of the lot of them. They had resumed their silly foretelling game and laughing their hearts out. How lowly, basic beings… they were just like animals in a zoo. He managed to let out a sour jeer. No wonder people like _him_ squeezed their money out of _them_ like a siphon…

He turned the corridor, made a motion to take his Electrocard from his pocket…  
And he froze, his face going blue-white with ire.  
There was a tiny blonde girl, meddling with the reader on his door.

-_You…_ - Togami's body shook with suppressed rage. – What do you think you're doing?  
The girl turned to him and backed away, looking busted.

-Ah… I-I'm sorry, Togami-san! You see... I noticed something on the circuit of this card reader. It seems somebody tried to gain access to your room... with an Electrocard ID that isn't yours.

That piqued Togami's interest.

- How would you know, if not by using your own card?  
- Eh, well… I'm a super high school level programmer. Noticing alerts from software is easy for me.

And she stood there, balancing from foot to foot, expectant. Togami felt his white ire taking over him again. What on earth did she want?

-Well?  
-I was wondering if you want me to fix the reader so that no one will try that ever again.  
-Why would I accept my door being tampered with? - Slow ire started to build within him.  
-I won't decode the access for me or for anyone else, you can get a secure access and you can control it when you're away. I can do it… I'm an ethical hacker,I… also know who you are, Togami-san, and you must be already used to be targeted. Your safety comes first, and… I want to help you to feel safe.

Togami laughed inwardly. _Another one who claims to know who I am. Heh, like someone can deal with the likes of me… I'm no weakling, female._

With the tail of his eye, he caught the glimpse of someone hiding behind a corner, and his brow creased further. So it was that damn Fukawa… or maybe her split personality Genocider Shou, trying to gain access to his quarters.

_Tsk… pesky being…_

On the other side, this little blonde girl he could fend off without much trouble. She didn't seem to be a fangirl, but he'd make sure he was present whenever she would be at work, and sure he would only need a couple of caustic words to get her crying, given her shy demeanor. She also looked like the geeky type, no need to be on one's toes with those, one only needed to know enough of their trade to outwit them and make them know their place.

And he didn't look the part, but he was no stranger to security codes. He had read some papers about ethical hacking… and quite a bit about non-ethical as well. Hell, _he was Byakuya Togami…_ he didn't care much for moral tweaking common people. He had a little practice breaking websites' security codes, as usual, due to boredom. He only would need her cracking the code once and then he'd get someone on Togami Group's tech division to tailor it to his special needs. That was out of the question. People were tools and as such they would be used.

-I'll settle with your offer for now. Do whatever you have to do – he cast an irate glance sideways – to avoid nuisances disturbing my rest.

The blonde girl nodded, looking scared and nervous, just as if she had been the intruder.

And Fukawa's shaking was so strong, it sent pretty strong vibrations around.

-

_At last._

A deep sigh escaped his lips once he fonally closed the door behind his back. That horrible first day was over… for him to be treated like the lot of them, to be approached and talked to like he was some kind of –_friend…_  
He shuddered at the very thought of that.

His eyes, usually narrowed in a slit of icy blue, softened when he approached his room. There it was… something he could consider remotely friendly.

Of course, it wasn't something alive. Pets or plants or anything that resembled, in some way, the warmth of life, had been excluded from his environment, so he saw such things as something alien. Those were, for him, only objects of trade and profit.

The two inanimate beings he appreciated the most were there, in his room.  
His glasses, which he clutched tight in his right hand when he fell asleep, just the way as child holds close a favorite toy.

And his Cremonese violin. That one had a story of its own. It was one of his fondest, most secret childhood memories.

When the time came for him to begin tutoring – and he always studied with classic music – it was decided he would learn an instrument to further his education. His father thought it was important for him to learn music, as it was an activity that demanded constant dedication and concentration, just like business did. And on top of that, it was worthy of a high class boy.

But which would be his instrument?

He was barely four years old when he was taken to a Royal Orchestra rehearsal near the Scala theatre in Milan, and, rare treat for a boy, but natural for a Togami prospect, he was left alone to inspect the instruments. The director was quite concerned about possible damage, but he was bluntly reassured that any damage would be paid for _in excess._

He toured around the instruments, brow furrowed, an adult-like demeanor in his thin, tiny hands. His eyes wandered around the place, from sax to trumpet to clarinet to trombone to fagot. His critical blue eyes considered them, weighing them in his tiny mind, knowing this was not only a class, but also – like everything in his short life – another competition.

_Pick correctly and win, child. Pick the instrument that would define you best, and that would also mean the image you want to reflect – of__**yourself.**_

And then, the epiphany.

His hand reached to the place where the first violin was resting. He snorted briefly, as if reassuring himself that the pick was worthy of him. He already _knew…_ the first violin was the unofficial director of the band, the commander of his peers.

Yes, he liked that… he could've picked the director's wand, but he knew the purpose of that exercise. Picking the wand was sending an all-too-clear defiance message to the current head – his father. Picking the first violin meant he wanted to be a lead but also cooperate with the lead to make the orchestra's sound something unreachable by any other. To make the Togami Group he had learned to worship, -even above his own father-, play a song everyone would envy, but never reproduce.

His cold eyes, so serious for a child his age, looked up at the first violin. He didn't need a beckoning. He knew what was required of him.

And he knelt in front of the four-year old, took the violin and stroked softly the instrument with the bow, so as to give him a sample of how it was intended to sound.

He knew the music, he had heard it before. **The Pachelbel Canon in D solo.** After a couple of minutes, Togami raised solemnly his hand, with the commanding attitude he knew was expected of him. The music died. The child scion nodded curtly, speaking a short, sharp phrase to his aide.  
"I choose that one"

It was then decided that he would get a Cremona SV175 as a present for his birthday. It wasn't a mere gift: he was expected to excel in its use, just as in everything else. He soon exceeded the expectations, and as he grew tall and lanky, he outgrew the violin within a couple of years. A second violin was tailor-made for him, and this time it was his faithful Stradivarius.

With a quiet smile, he took the violin out of the case, dusted it thoroughly, tensed string and bow, held it with its chinpiece, and stroked softly the bow against the tense strings. Such care and gentleness, rare in a boy whose most distinctive trait was to be coarse and hurtful, was something he never allowed others to see. It was just the violin and himself. He didn't need another creature breathing close to him when his bow-and-strings romance was on.

Best way, ever, to soothe loose his own tensions.

Screw the school, screw the rogues he had to share room with, the silly subjects, hell, even _screw Genocider Shou._ As long as he had his refuge, his violin, his glasses to shield him from the outer world, that room would be home.

He, -a boy who had spent his life studying, travelling, learning, who had many houses to arrive to, yet never a _true_ home to begin with-, would always have home to come back to.

_His own home,_ made of music and a smile he never shared with the outside world.


	5. The King is Safe, So the Subjects Say

**Whiter Shade of (K)night V**

He had had it.  
A month in that academy was more than enough.

He was annoyed to no end, he wouldn't put up with that silly farm and the peasants he'd found on his way anymore.

He was coping with a new, unknown kind of pressure: peer pressure and a sort of bulling even he, already hardened by business, had never encountered before.

Mocking laughs behind his back, a couple of offending nicknames overheard while he was busy minding his own business in his locker, papers stuck to his suit, a drawing in a common class's blackboard they arrived too late to delete… all directed to him.

Cold ire started mounting in his chest: if a volcano could spit a snow blizzard, that would've been the feeling. The first insect that dared approach the raging bull that Byakuya Togami was now, would end like a swatted fly on the floor.

And sure enough, even Fukawa was keeping her distance, feeling his eyes shine colder than Arctic glaciers. _But oh woe betide whoever dares come close to me now. I'll set an example on him or her of what happens on those who dare mock me… not me only, the Group I represent!_

- Togami-kun?

The icy mist in the heir's blue green eyes made Naegi jolt in place. His lip trembled slightly as he clenched his jaw in tension, resetting his glasses as his stern gaze towered over the diminutive Hope.

- _How dare you… _honestly – a shrilly, moody voice erupted from behind the blonde – His name is Byakuya-sama… show him the r-respect he deserves… what are you doing b-being so familiar with him… are you perhaps into yao-

- _Tomare,_ you annoyance. I guess it's up to a smelly female to be so pig-tongued. _Disappear._ –

Togami's abrupt "Stop" came through clenched teeth. Touko shrunk in place, biting her lip furiously. She already knew there was a sort of truce between them when no one was around, he even allowed her to rant and rave about him as she pleased. Alas, whenever any of them filthy lowlifes of Class 78 approached the boy of his adoration, Togami suddenly switched mode and discharged all this bitter thorns over her.

- Well, what is it? –Togami's voice and pitch were already below 0°.

- Uh… I just wanted to know if you already have a group for the science assignment of next wee- Naegi stopped dead in his speech, as the blonde had taken out a pocket calculator and began typing numbers on it at lightning speed.

- Ah… I'm calculating how much money you're making me – _and the Togami group_– lose with a petty conversation such as this one – he hissed coldly.

- S-so… you already have a group. That-that makes me happy – I just thought-you not being like the others-he shrunk just as Fukawa had, twiddling his fingers - would be harder to find a- well, I guess, never mind…

- _Matte_ – Togami's voice was commanding, and Naegi stopped in place. There was a wolfish gesture in his lips. – By any account, were you pitying me?

- N-no… not at all… I mean how… uhhh- Naegi felt pressure all around under the unflinching blue eyes.

- You think what all those pitiful worms do, don't you? That I'm a lousy rich boy who takes pride in money he never made and titles he hasn't yet earned... That I'm a loner because no one stands my attitude.- The blonde began to shake in rage - I've heard the name-calling… you do think I'm … _kuchiki megane… poor rich boy… deaf on top of arrogant… _You dare take pity in me… filthy _bacteria_ like you.

Togami's hand extended towards Naegi. The Hope and Luck boy couldn't react at all. He felt lifted by the collar by his fully outstretched arm, at the height of the taller boy's disgust-contorted face. He noticed the grip was weird, accomplished as if he had been taught martial arts before. And another detail – he wasn't touching him with his bare fingers. Togami's hand was gripping him _from inside his clothes_. Yet his strength wasn't hindered by the Merino wool of his jacket, nor by the Egyptian cotton of his business shirt.

He was, now, seeing the bottom of the iceberg, and it wasn't a pleasant view.

_Good job, Naegi-kun, you went and did it..._

The scion's right fist swang back, preparing his jab.  
Naegi closed his eyes, fully expecting a punch.

But Togami didn't get to execute the hit.

Two arms had grabbed him by the waist.  
Two pleading, tear-stricken eyes were looking at his own.

- Have you ever heard the phrase "mind your own business", Fukawa? – he thundered, eyes ablaze. He would lash at her if she didn't let go. Who cared if she was a female.

- I-I'm not meaning to nose in your affairs, Byakuya-sama - she stammered – b-but I think you have to see something… with your very own eyes…

Naegi felt himself dropped from Togami's height to the floor. The freezing stare lingered on him for a moment.

- I'm not done with you, _plankton._ If Fukawa's goal was to protect you, I swear you will both pay dearly

- O-o-of course _not,_ Byakuya-sama! Who cares about him, he's plain, unattractive, short and ugly! _You,_ on the contrary…

- _Urusei._ Just point me to whatever you wanted me to see.

- Yes, Byakuya-sama, sir!

He followed Fukawa, who was anxiously twirling her neckerchief, into the classroom. There was a commotion inside. Everyone rallied around a table where a girl he knew was a swimmer and a big, muscular female fighter were telling a story aloud.

- … and when we heard them, I left Sakura-chan and catched up with them. I was quite angry, I shouted at them that they had no right to hurt his feelings. I mean… the guy is cold and mean and his tongue stings…

- So he seems, but… he's meant to be different, of course. His family has high hopes of him and he surely didn't get a childhood like our own. One of my family members was summoned from my dojo and saw him take on an Aikido fighter twice his height and age. He has defended himself all his life, he still has to learn how to trust, Asahina-yo.

- But still, Asahina-san, you broke the rules and fought in the corridor… - the martial prefect, Ishinoda or whatever his name was, butted into the chat.

- Nothing that much – Asahina added cheerfully – You're taking things too far, Ishimaru-kun!

Oh, yeah, his surname was Ishimaru, just like the old prime minister his own grandfather had made business with back in the sixties.

- I know you were defending a classmate and fellow, but still, the rules…!

- I don't think my father will think much of this – a quiet, violet-haired girl chimed in with a calm voice – Asahina was just defending one of our own.

Togami tensed again. He wasn't sure he heard right. _Fellow… classmate… one of our own._ They were talking about _him._ That wasn't _right…_was it?

Against his better judgement, his legs moved on their own accord, pulling him forward to approach the group.

All eyes turned to look at him.

There was no pity, no mockery, no despise. He was taken aback, his poor understanding of emotions leaving him in no man's land. He read in the eyes of the boys and girls of class 78 something he hadn't encountered in his whole life.

_Admiration._

- Why didn't you tell us, Togami-san? Why didn't you say you were being bullied by the other students? – Chihiro's voice rose above the group, shrilly and frail but full of respect.

- Because I wasn't – Togami's voice was abrupt as usual, yet now he was staring into the petite blonde's eyes with interest.- And besides, I reckon that's none of your business, is it?

- That wasn't accurate, Togami-kun. I've distributed quite the detentions for people trying to vandalize your locker, steal or damage your property. That is called bullying in any academy, moreso in Hope's Peak.- Ishimaru's rulesy voice loudly addressed his point home.

Togami found himself answering in automatic. His self-defense system kicked in before he could order his confused thoughts.  
- Stop putting me at your pathetic level. I always knew that there would be haters and wannabes behind my back. Quit acting like you care. It doesn't affect me in the slightest…

_- But it affects us._

Togami's brow furrowed. Naegi, slightly disheveled and limping a bit, walked into the classroom, smiling. His icy eyes didn't apologize for venting his ire on him, yet his words sounded off, given he had almost hit him.

- Care to explain that last bit of nonsense?

- It's not nonsense. Like I said before, we're all friends.

- And there is _gold at the end of the rainbow._ All fun and games in here. – Togami's reply was decorated with a smirk that vanished in a second. – Listen. I don't like you. I don't trust you. I don't need your pity or friendship or whatever you weak people call it. Leave me be, I can carry burdens heavier than that and keep going. It's the toll the chosen pay.

- _Omae,_ how dare you! – a tall biker gangman pointed his finger at him –  
- Yeah, man – the rastafari fortuneteller scratched his head - Didja get your feelings taken out by surgery?  
- And to think I went out of my way to shut them up! Insensitive jellyfish! – the swimmer girl shouted furiously.  
- _Insensitive jelly…fish?! _– Togami's face distorted, showing his utter awe and disgust at such wording. – Me?!  
- _You!_ I say what I see, after all! – the girl pouted, grabbing a donut from a nearby box.  
- And t-th-that comes to show you n-need glasses! All the bleach in that swimming pool of yours has b-burnt your eyes!  
- _Quit your yapping..._

Angry eyes glared at Fukawa and Asahina. _ Tsk… rants of hysterical women…_

Naegi spoke again, amid the murmur of protests.

- I don 't deny you've had it rough, Togami-kun. As Oogami-san said – he addressed the muscular female fighter – you're not like the rest of us. But you need not be so defensive around us. We're not out to get you, or anything. You are our classmate, and if someone dares to lash at you, all fifteen of us are going to have a go at them!

Bewildered, Togami found the murmurs changing into loud proclaims of approval.

- That's right! Just as in the biker gang! One for all, my word, and a man's word is law!  
- It's against the rules to bully a classmate! Whoever does that to you will pay, Togami-kun!  
- I- I'm not good at fighting… but you know you can count on me to secure your property!  
- I sure can tell the tale of Byakuya-Togami-sama's courage to all my readers, so they know…  
- I see bright things in your future, Togacchi! Just make sure you pay me for the readings!  
- Feh, you're arrogant, but I can't deny it… You sure have a heap of guts! Here, have a donut!  
- This proves you're not only strong in body. A soul that strong can win over any warrior.  
- I'm sure Togami-kun would prefer something more… aristocratic to celebrate his value.  
- D-do-don't you dare approach Byakuya-sama like that! I saw his value be-before you lot did!  
- Home run to second base! Your story would make for a great song, won't it Sayaka?  
- Definitely! Though I wonder how can I sing it… as a modern enka… as a pop ondo…?  
- Forget that! Say, say! Wouldn't you look cute in a magazine cover beside me, Togami-kun?  
- Like he's interested in that. Allow me to cover your back. No one will dare mock you anymore.  
- Togami-kun. Maybe my family isn't as great as yours, but we've got your back covered.

Naegi smiled brightly. Togami's lips curled into a shrewd smirk.  
- _Tche… _whatever, suit yourselves. It may make you all feel better to think you can help someone like _me. _

-You may not believe it or feel like it, Togami-kun… but we really are happy to have you in our class. Perhaps you feel we can't teach you a lot, but you can feel safe among us, at least. To all of us, you are a role model in many senses. It wouldn't be Class 78 if you weren't here… With you, it's truly a class like no other.

_Sure. Talk big is all you can do, failures. What do you know about me? Are you aware I have been taught not to trust, not to lower my defenses in front of anyone? _

Still, the way they were looking at him – _sickeningly congenial,_ if you will – didn't seem like a pose. They actually felt that way about him. He wasn't at all used to genuine people, used as he was to look for disguises and second motives. Fukawa was beaming at him, too. Even Fukawa, whom he deemed the one who had the attitude more akin to his own towards the whole group…

_A class like no other, huh…_

-I said suit yourselves. Your boring friendship talk is enough to send the whales to their extinction.

And he left, haughty, aloof, the true image of a heir stamped all over his frame. Yet still, from that day on, nothing was ever the same.

The stickers behind his suit vanished, and some beat-up faces stared gloomily at him.

The hate talk behind his back was gone. A certain biker looked smugger than ever.

Assorted coloured donuts started to appear under his desk.

Cheap, but lovingly wrapped, police novels were found next to the donuts.

A small box, complete with solitaire, poker set, Jenga, roulette and mahjong set, popped into his locker.

Electro Locks were set on his locker door and gym cabinet. He found his Electro ID heavily encrypted.

He received odd bows in the aisles, under the severe stare of a certain hall monitor.

Mixed martial arts gloves hung from his gym cabinet. A certain fighter was smiling at his surprise.

He started to get odd pats in the back and assignments from the stern-looking principal.

He found a rather plain, but soft and warm scarf tied to his chair when autumn gave way to winter.

A small, hand-painted logo of the Togami group found its way to his locker door.

He had never been treated with human warmth before, and all these tokens of affection unsettled him to no end. Was this the way how normal human beings acted towards each other? No need to be suspicious of each other, like in business? Why were they acting nice to him, considering how much he badmouthed them and fought them back?

His people, in the Togami conglomerate, took care of him because he was a prized asset. On the contrary, his fellow from class 78 were showing him a different way of caring. He started getting spontaneous invitations to join them in random activities, and while he still rejected a number, the tall blonde was regularly seen around some of them.

Not because he was getting emotionally involved with them, mind. (_Hmph. Quit dreaming..._) He was curious, yes, so very curious to investigate this side of life he didn't understand. Understanding humans could lead him to be a better tycoon once the time was set. After all, he never had peers or partners, he barely knew how to address his servants and much less how he had to treat kids his age. Socializing could lead to better business. To word it in terms he would understand, this was training for the times when he would be on his own, at the helm of the Togami group.

And surprisingly, oddly enough, his biggest qualm – boredom- was subsiding. That should be enough for him. Boredom was the thing he hated the most, it was the feeling that made him snap and unleash his sadistic side. For him to be that entertained in that _zoo…_ who would have imagined it!

Once that certainty set in, it was easier for him to accept the overwhelming experience. His life became rowdier, noisier, stranger, but he gradually acquired a small dogma. He could, if not trust, feel safe around this people. He could act his own way and they wouldn't mind him being _what he was_. They would go out of their peasantish ways to defend him like the opal in the crown he was.

No, he concluded, after lying on his bed, relaxing after a whole evening of ice-skating. A month in Hope's Peak academy wasn't enough...

More than that, as his eyes closed themselves, he felt a strange peace within his chest. If he hadn't known he, one day, would leave its walls to return to his duty, he might have considered Hope's Peak _his first home._


	6. The Heart of Perfection

It was the same, always the same.

Yet Class 78, the group of Super High School Levels, never ceased to try and change things around.

But it seemed that, no matter what, the outcome was always the same.

During Algebra tests, the tall, lanky figure, clad in his unmistakeable suit, left his desk after merely a handful of minutes, handing over his exam before snorting, resetting his glasses and muttering to himself about the pettiness of the calculations.

In History, the teacher had severe problems to catch him off-guard. He might have his sight buried in a book, and at the same time replying, in an off-hand voice, about the feats of the Muromashi period.

Same with potatoes with Geography. The teacher usually asked another of the alumni, only to hear the despiseful answer coming from the blonde scion.

And it wasn't limited to the brainy subjects. Mondo Oowada got a first- hand proof of this in Gym classes. Annoyed because all his vault jumps were flawless compared to his own, he challenged the lanky-looking scion to a spar.

He didn't think much of the bespectacled, nimble-looking rich boy in front of him.

Until he found himself thrown with a single thrust towards the nearest carpet.

He ran fast, one of the best timings in Gym. So competitive and alert in everything. He had also heard him play a violin solo with the ease of a concertino during a forced recess (power off during a storm).

He had to admit, Togami was serious in his efforts to be, look and act "better than you". The Dance of the Knights from Prokofiev, played with a self satisfied smirk in the dimly lit music room, with thunder in the background, was something terrifying, yet attractive at the same time.

Naegi noticed Fukawa, in a corner, sighing at Togami and made to move away to avoid spoiling the one-sided romance, but found the exit blocked. All his classmates, in droves, had followed the source of the music and found Naegi in the same place.

He thought Togami would've been furious, but he humored the audience with a haughty smirk and played "Devil's Trill" from Tartini as an encore.

That boy… he didn't have bones, he had ivory.

He didn't have blood, red or blue that it was, he had nectar and ambrosia.

He didn't step on the floor, but on clouds.

How was it that he always looked so unmoved, to the point he resembled a god befallen among humans?

That was what Naegi was asking himself, when he stumbled into a scary vision.  
Togami sitting on the floor of a corridor, his fist closed around the cotton fabric of his shirt, above his chest, breathing heavily.

Beside him, Fukawa, who looked between disappointed her alone time with him was over, but relieved to see Naegi come.

-I-I know you'll maybe reject my request… but help me with Byakuya-sama… h-he just collapsed...  
-_I have NOT collapsed_ – Togami's voice came out sharp, but feeble – _And who told you to grab my suit like that?!_ Leave me… A Togami heir expects help from no one. Get off me, I'll get to my feet on my own.

And sure he did. He felt angry at that display of weakness. His heart had acted weird after the family exam, a slight static touch made him react awfully. His knees bending, he had to clutch his heart and pour down a mug of coffee to feel better.  
But this time, it felt like no amount of coffee would ease his weak state. He stumbled again, holding to the wall.

-BYAKUYA-SAMA!  
- CAN YOU SHOUT LOUDER SO THAT WE ARE HEARD BY THE WHOLE ACADEM- URGH!  
-Togami-kun, Fukawa-san is right! You have to see a doctor! I can take you to the infirm—  
-_ONLY DEAD WILL THE TOGAMI GROUP HEIR ALLOW ANYONE TO "TAKE HIM" ANYWHERE!_ – he snarled – I'll walk there – _urgh_ – just be quiet… you are making matters worse.

And so, with a mouth-clamping Fukawa and a worried Naegi on tow, he walked into the infirmary. A nervous looking nurse tried to greet the group, but was shushed by a cold glance from the heir.

-Never mind her, she knows nothing about the handling of proper patients.

A handsome teen entered the fray, shooing away the nurse – no older than himself – and sat down. Togami couldn't suppress a cold snicker.  
- The way you talk, it would seem you're an accomplished doctor yourself.  
-That's right, I am. Now who's the patient?  
-Myself. I just came to avoid these two falling into hysterics.  
-Hmmm… you're Togami Byakuya, correct?

Ignoring the deep sigh behind him, the scion nodded.

-Everybody knows you. Who would've thought you'd submit your whole class into worship… you're interesting… I would love to get a glimpse of the way your brain works… - Thin fingers brushed golden strands of hair back, revealing a pissed Togami and setting murderous hisses from Fukawa.

-_Let go this instant…_  
-Of course, of course, sorry, my bad. I'm getting too used at those reserve course students.  
-Lab rats, more like. So you work with those infra humans, I feel sorry for you. – the cruel laugh that came out of Togami's throat left Naegi and Fukawa clueless.

-Yes indeed, but we're straying away from the point. What's wrong?  
-He collapsed on the floor – Naegi was well aware of Byakuya's piercing eyes over him - I think it's his heart… uhm… doctor…

-Neurologist. High School Level Neurologist. Matsuda Yasuke is my name.  
-Oh, but if it is his h-heart, we should seek another doctor…  
-The doctor is away right now, but I'm also graduated from Medicine. Can you allow me to see if there is another cause for his weakness? Togami-kun seems to be a very strong young man. I want to hear your heart, please take off your shirt…

Byakuya grumbled at the eardrum-piercing shriek Touko gave at that request.

-I will, but _get her out of here_ or I'll roll your stetoscope somewhere you won't like it to be... – he hissed.  
-No problem. I'll draw the curtain so I can examine you.  
-Naegi, restrain her. If I see her peeping, I'll see that your luck turns to disgrace, got it?  
-Y-yes!

Sighing in exasperation, the golden-maned heir took off his jacket, cross tie and shirt and stared at Matsuda's movements with a deep frown in his haughty face.  
-Just as a curiosity, Togami-kun… you drink a lot of coffee, or so it seems, based on your heart rate.  
-And what if I do? I need it.

-Oh, no need to be edgy. I guess there is an electrical dysfunction within you. You see… The way I see it, you were in a lot of stress lately, so your brain is sending adrenaline through your system in droves. Coffee makes matter worse. Also, if your coffee was made with water within your household, which has been through a Corona discharge process, the ionization would cause a damage to the internal electric equilibrium of the—  
-Stop. I get where you are going. There is, indeed, an ionization facility at my family's living quarters. So you say the higher conductivity of the ionized water is affecting my heart rate, or either I guess you're not suggesting we got ourselves a Townsend discharge…

Naegi felt he was listening to a congress in science. Again, Togami's knowledge was far beyond his own. Physics, too…

-Not at all, but close. Here the water is not ionized, so you might be feeling a kickback. I suggest you try something else. Why not… trying ginseng coffee. – He bent down and extracted a small jar, pouring some in Togami's palm, who sniffed it, brushed it onto his palm and tasted it with the tip of his tongue - It's a mixture of high quality coffee, ginseng, milk powder and sugar. It has all the advantages of ordinary coffee. It makes you feel alert in the early morning hours, it promotes your digestion and it has a great taste to boot...

-I guess they pay you to advertise… - Togami's voice intended to be snappy, but came out utterly slow and numb.

-Not at all, it's simply a healthy advice. Ginseng coffee eliminates some ordinary coffee problems, too, like your current accelerated heart beat, and prevents sleepless nights. I took it when I was finishing my studies. – Matsuda grabbed Togami's wrist, smiling – Oh, one last thing, Togami-kun. The ginseng pills you're taking are also part of the problem. Here, because it's you I'll give you a free tin. Tell me how you feel later… your condition is not severe, you'll be fine if you stray away from bad habits.

And then, it happened.

With a quick wrist move, he strapped a cable around Togami's wrist and drove a quick pulse onto him. Wide blue eyes open in shock, he tried to remove his wrist from the strap, but Matsuda moved his head side to side.

Now he saw it. The first powder wasn't coffee. It was an anesthetic. He had intended to give him cardio version since he saw his atrial arrhythmia. Matsuda slid a paper in his hand, still smiling.

_Sorry I had to trick you, Togami-kun, but you wouldn't have allowed me to pull cardioversion on you. My take is that you either found yourself dehydrated ,or you had rheumatic fever, don't tell me if you don't want, but the only true way of solving the heartbeat is with electricity and medicines for a while.  
Anyway, iodized water is also a possible cause. Don't rule it out._

Take care,  
Matsuda  
Ps. The tin is really ginseng coffee. You should try a cup later, but I think you'll be fine after this.

Togami gritted his teeth. Conned by that bastard… Still, he kept his mouth shut. No one had to know he had been tricked by such a lowly being… He put his shirt, tie and jacket back on in a flash of electric blazing blue eyes, his entire frame shaking, as usual when he was beyond himself with rage.

-We're done here.  
- B-but the doctor…  
- Neurologist, which means mad scientist or nut-case supporter. We're out, I said.

Once Fukawa and Naegi were out, Togami directed an angry glance towards Matsuda.  
-I'll remember this. I'm one who never forgets…  
-No hard feelings on my side. If you recover, then it's fine by me…  
-Don't be surprised if I get the Japanese Medical Society to disown your title – Togami's smile was cold and cruel. – I hold that priviledge.

-You are underestimating everyone who's not a Togami, are you? That doesn't scare me – Matsuda smiles dismissively – I also have friends… in some high places. Maybe as high as yours, Togami-kun.

The door of the infirmary shook with the almighty slam the blonde heir inflicted on it.

Matsuda suppressed a laugh and took out his unfinished manga magazine.

- U-uhmmm...Y-you left your coffee behind, Byakuya-sama...  
- Keep it. I'm not touching it after you've ran your slimey hands all over it.  
- Th-that's a great honor...!  
- _Do. Shut. Up..._


	7. And She Called Him Her White Knight

"You should really come over to the pool!"

The heir scoffed, half-closing "Homo Ludens" and sliding carefully the silver marker into the book.

"Give me one reason why I should get myself into the water all of you already have swam into…" He made a disgusted grimace, as if to stress his point. "Like I would want to get in contact with your ADN in any way…"

The general indulgence at his reply, peppered with some good-natured laughs, was something he still had to get used to. It didn't feel bad at all. He didn't have to spend excessive energy in defending himself anymore, but he still lashed back, 'just because'. The title of Super High School Level Heir wasn't only for show: he had a reputation to uphold.

But no one felt bad about his defensive attitude. They didn't try to convince him, nor insisted too much. Deep down, Naegi thought, he wasn't as scary or cold, he only had been alone a long time and didn't know how to relate or react to affection.

Or did he…?

Fukawa wasn't into the pool either. She was eyeing the water timidly, as if she wanted to enter but didn't dare to. She had nodded all through the speech Togami just gave, her hands clamped around a closed vase that contained liquid. Now she walked uneasily towards the blonde, the vase shaking in her unsteady hands.

"Is there an earthquake in the making, or is it just you ?"

"So-s-s-sorry…" she mouthed, putting the vase in his hands and stepping back after he got it. "A-and I remembered how Byakuya-sama likes it…"

Without a word, Togami took the vase, opened the lid, sniffed it, put the lid back in and sipped the liquid. Off-handedly, as usual, he picked the camera Yamada had left on his towel, swept the whole scene in with a quick zoom, and after calibrating a bit, created a snapshot.

He did it so casually. So different to the contemptuous young lion who easily bared his fangs left and right. Yes, Naegi thought. He had come a long way out of his fortress. To think he would trust the nervous Fukawa enough… to take her frappe coffee without complaints.

Little did the sapling boy know that it wasn't just a matter of frappe…

It took her long to gather her courage.

The pool was now void, except for a solitary figure, and herself… but she wasn't anyone, she thought. She had been entranced at his long legs quietly sinking in the water as he sat in the edge of the pool. How she wished she had a nice body he would notice when he passed by her side… but then, wouldn't she just be someone she wasn't…?

"You really are annoying, standing there idly just staring at my back"

"Huh?!"

Fukawa jolted in place. Automatically, she recoiled… but even then, she couldn't fail to notice that Togami's voice wasn't telling her off.

Could it be… it sounded… inviting?

"Well? You are already here. Come over here or just leave." He motioned the edge of the pool, his eyes still fixed to the book.

Her knees gave way. Slowly, trembling with fear and joy, she walked towards him, twiddling one braid in her hands.

"You better take off those granny shoes and filthy socks of yours. If you mind them getting wet, that is".

Wondering how did it come so natural to her to obey him, she complied. Her heart thumps were deafening. Sitting next to him… being close to him… she wasn't ready… but he wanted her to… She slouched her body so that she hugged her knees, bare feet grabbing the edge of the pool

"Tsk. Just get your feet in. I know you were dying to earlier. No one is looking now, though"

_Except from you, Byakuya-sama…_

"H-how is it? C-cold water just isn't… m-my thing. I might-catch a-cold"

"Tiepid" He huffed. "As if I would get my feet in cold water…"

Fukawa then stretched slightly, dipping her toes into the water. Togami was right. It was pleasantly warm.

His eyes had remained fixed in the book during that short exchange. But then, suddenly, he slid the silver bookmark into the page he was reading, left the book aside and turned his regal stare to the Super High School Level Writer.

Somewhat awkwardly, he placed his hand on top of hers and passed his fingertips from tip to wrist. Fukawa's throat constricted, no sound came from it. His other hand reached towards her neck, and the bespectacled girl thought it would be a wonderful way to die.

Yet he didn't throttle her. He merely ran his fingertips, collarbone to jawline, just the way he did with her hand. His touch was slow, polite, like the way a doctor examined a patient. There was nothing demanding in the gesture, yet the authority that seeped from him was as strong as usual. Nor was there anything like the electric feeling of someone experienced to have his way with women. He didn't look patronizing, kinky, lusty or mocking. He just looked curious.

In his world, women were prizes, executive assistants or part of the decor. They were raised to convey the glances, sound confident, act and move like supermodels on a catwalk. Nothing like the way Fukawa behaved herself. Accustomed to eye people through his personal microscope, in the past months he had been intrigued about that little exoplanet that whirled round his orbit just like a crazy comet.

She didn't behave as the many female exoplanets that dared enter his magnetic field. Her patron of movement was… different. He still remembered how hurt she had felt when he approached her and asked her what was the price of leaving him alone. Opening his checkbook, he hissed through clenched teeth:

"Don't just gawp at me like a dead fish. Name it. I will pay whatever the sum, the sooner the better… I just can't stand your sick antics"

" I'm… a nobody… I'm pathetic… disgraceful… but I'm not… a gold digger…"

He was astounded at the tears that welled into her eyes.

"D-do whatever you please. Kick me. Stab me. Tell me I'm rotten, filthy, stinky, unworthy of your eyes. Hung me from the wrists. I w-wont protest or fight back… J-just don't a-a-a-ask me t-t-to leave your side." She swallowed hard. "You-you are everything to m-me. Walking behind you… is my r-road home… Please d-d-don't leave me without a place to go… I'd rather kill myself."

For once, he was left speechless.

She rejected the money?

She was offering herself as a scapegoat to vent his frustrations, without asking anything in exchange?

"Tsk". He put the checkbook away. "Suit yourself, then. But why do you ever… react like that. There are lots of things you could use the money for…"

"It's Byakuya-sama's money. Of course I wouldn't expend it… I-it's not that I'm penniless… I have my own money from my books publisher… It's just – she bit her lip – following you gives meaning to my s-sorry existence. I don't ask for much. Just… let me walk behind you, and use me as you see fit..."

Well, if it wasn't a masochist to his sadist. Basically, he could do whatever he pleased with her… And he had decided to conduct a short test, for there was another side he wasn't feeling like he wanted around...

There were the results.

Fukawa was trembling of joy, blushing like a field of poppies, ecstasy all over her face. Her big eyes gleamed, incredulous and blissful, just like a stray puppy that received a pat on the head. Why he, of all people… had decided to give her so much happiness?

Yes, he concluded, she was dead serious. He had performed a move that could be interpreted as an attempt to strangle her, and she didn't even flinch. She would gladly give in to whatever he did to her.

Fukawa always looked so sheepish and self-pitiful, so different from any other female he had ever known, that a strange sensation started creeping through his guts. He didn't know that the will to protect someone felt like a knotted gut.

He couldn't help being mean to her in front of the others. That, to him, came natural. But only half of it was because he felt like saying something rude. The other half was him keeping his distance, sparing her the spotlight, putting a gap of safety between both and the deriding, judging, name-calling outer world.

But in private, he could stop being defensive. There was no danger of looking like an odd couple. Besides, he had no idea she could look appealing when she wasn't grimacing in fear, disgust or self-pity.

The braid-haired girl let out a soft, nervous giggle, as Togami held her jaw carefully, like an archeologist would treat a precious relic. Totally serious, but devoid of his naturally snappy attitude, he moved his face closer to hers…

And then, fate decided to step in.

In an attempt to move towards him, Fukawa forgot her feet were submerged in the pool. She put her wet plants on the ceramic edge of the pool to bring herself closer to him slipping as a result, her hand sliding past his surprised attempt to grip her. She lost her balance and with a panicked yelp, plunged into the water.

Togami leapt up, shocked. He stood for a couple of seconds in confusion, cursing at himself for making her so nervous. He was still in his gym clothes, while Fukawa was fully dressed. With water, the fuku would become heavier. No matter how good a swimmer she was – and certainly she was no Asahina – she would have it hard to swim up. She could - drown.

"Kuh… looks like I have no choice…"

He gritted his teeth, staring at the bottom of the pool, and jumped into the water.

Whirlwinds of water seemed to have held Touko Fukawa underwater. Her long, soaked braids and her wet fuku were holding her down. Where did her glasses disappear to?

No doubt. She was going to drown. Togami was not going to care either. _Silly girl who can't even move properly…_

Her chest constricted by panic and lack of air, she opened her eyes. And then she blinked.

Was it… was it not… was she close to death and daydreaming?

A face she knew very well was approaching her into the water, one hand holding his glasses from slipping, the other stretched towards her. His arm snatched her waist, his glasses safely in his mouth, Togami swam up with all his might, praying to his family gods to have enough strength to pull them both up.

When, after what seemed an eternity, their heads raised above the surface, they stared into each other's eyes. Fukawa was blushing, not meeting his eyes. Togami was panting, glasses still in his mouth. There was a faint dread in his eyes, as when someone just barely saved something precious. He tightened his grip on her waist. She felt so grateful, but couldn't help to notice he was exhausted.

"I-it's okay. Don't strain y-yourself anymore…"

In silence, he swam her – better, pushed her - towards the pool stairs, waited until she pulled herself gingerly up, and gave her his glasses. She sat, barricading herself behind her knees, near, but not by, the edge of the pool.

"Your… glasses…"

Fukawa gave a gasp of surprise. Togami was still breathing heavily, holding to the stairs, his hand outstretched towards her.

Oh no. No,no, no, no, no.

"You can't… are you serious? You – got that problem in your heart the other day…"

The reply came between gasps.

"My heart is fine – this is - nothing I haven't done before…It's not that I don't know- what being without-glasses- feels like…"

"I-it's okay… I'm fine… please… get out of the water…"

"Don't you dare – move from there – will be quick"

His voice had, again, become commanding. Fukawa wanted to stop him, but under his no-nonsense stare, she ended up giving him his wet glasses instead.

He inbreathed deep a couple of times, turning so that he stood with his heels on the stairs. Grasping the stairs with one hand, the other holding his glasses in place, he made a gracious short dive and plunged into the water once more.

Not too quick for him not to be able to hear Fukawa's cry.

"Byakuya… don't!"

That was why.

That was why he kept testing himself, defying his limits, pushing himself forward.

He had learned to model his own life in ways that others deemed obsessive.

Whenever there was something he felt he didn't excel at, he didn't voice it, but made silent calculations on whether he would try to get better or just deceive others to think he was great at it.

Although he was far above average in speed and swiftness, could dance, run, jump, play sports and the like, he was not entirely confident in his body strength. Lifting weight and carrying objects were not subjects of his heir-modeling training.

Carrying a body, though hers was similar in complexion to his, had left him slightly exhausted. Not to mention Fukawa's damp fuku and his own clothes.

He couldn't help but remember the heir exam and the coins at the bottom of the pool.

And the blonde heir, knowing he wasn't seen, found himself smiling, his hand holding his glasses to his face, as he dived and reached for the round glasses he was, now, so familiar with.

Coins… So petty.

He would have gone gladly to the bottom of that pool for a certain pair of glasses…

When he emerged, her glasses in his hands, he was still panting, but very lightly. He climbed the stairs quite nimbly, tilting his head back to brush away the excess water, while holding Fukawa's glasses out for her.

Just as the princes in her novels. Just as the chivalrous warriors in ivory armor.

Now that was someone she could entrust her heart to…

Not much more was spoken between the two. He went to the storeroom and picked two sweatshirts with two sets of towels. Wrapping her in a towel, he motioned her to the girls changing room. Both left fully changed towards the cafeteria, waited for the coffee pot to boil, took their mugs in a near silence. Just their eyes sometimes met, and they immediately lowered them, smiling like naughty children.

What a big, big ice break had just happened. Just in a silent pact, no one said a word to the outer world. She continued to play the lovesick unrequited, he the bashful loner.

And since that very day, whenever Togami passed by Fukawa, without giving her a second glance, she could be heard cooing softly in his direction: "Morning, my White Knight!"

His reply was a seemingly annoyed grunt. But deep in his chest, he was smug to no end.

Since that day, he didn't take his doubts about his physical endurance seriously anymore.

She believed him to be strong enough to be her knight.

And that's what mattered, in the end.


	8. Popular, I know about popular

_Slide._

As Byakuya pulled out _The history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire_ by Edward Gibbon from the History shelf, he heard a rustle and a sniffle. He knew well who it was. Who else would be in the library at 1 am, not being exam time?

"Fukawa" he raised his voice slightly, in his usual blunt manner. "Bug in your sock? I wouldn't've expected you of all people to be awake this lat-"

He stopped. Something was amiss. Her head… turned away? Had Fukawa just avoided to look at him?

"Last I checked with the mirror, I didn't have pimples or smallpox" he snorted "Then why aren't you looking at me -or answering me for that matter?"

Amazingly, Touko Fukawa, the girl that until then had been drinking the polar winds he left trailing behind, did something she had never done before. She tossed her head up defiantly, taking off her glasses, her brow furrowed, her grey eyes red-rimmed.

Fukawa had been crying… but why… who… _dared_ do that to his personal cheerleader?

"Defensive, are we? Though I warn you… stare at me like that again and I won't be so lenient…"

"It's not like you… will ever… care about what I think or what… happens to me… right?"

Touko's voice was angry, bitter, contained. No "Byakuya-sama". This time, the Literary Girl looked nothing like the slightly creepy stalker he had grown accustomed to have behind his back. What had possibly shaken her so much?

"Okay. Maybe you've got a fever. Come this way, the infirmary is close by…"

Fukawa snapped her wrist free from his grasp. _Oho_. Another alarm signal.

"What's with you… feel honored I touched the filthy fabric of your plain fuku" he mumbled, trying to snap her back into her normal lovesick puppy persona. Instead, he saw her lip tremble, heard another sniffle, and set her glasses again over her nose.

"Oi… If there is something that made you upset, I want to hear it."

And there you have it. Byakuya was nowhere near a master in psychology, but 'hearing people out' – more likely nodding and mumbling "uh-huh" – was a skill from business negotiations that usually paid off. In this case, it did when everything else failed. He could see Touko staring at him, both hopeful and incredulous.

"Y-you really will?"

"I already am. Do you see me wandering off to get that much-needed coffee I planned to get half an hour ago?"

The writer's head denied. She started looking a lot more like usual… not that that was a relief, but Togami had seen a side of Touko Fukawa he didn't like at all. Her antics were far better: at least he had some idea on how to counter them. That other side… was utterly creepy.

"I don't know if you'll be… w-wanting to w-waste time with my s-silly worries… "

The scion said nothing, but raised his head, folded his arms and eyed her with a piercing, unyielding stare. If such an attitude had subtitles, they would read "speak or be blown to dust". Fukawa winced somewhat painfully and began talking.

What she said didn't make a lot of sense: even by the defensive standards of the Heir, it sounded slightly paranoid. She had been cornered lately by two of their classmates when she was only minding her business. Not only that: verbally bullied to levels in which she had been close to snapping.

"I m-managed to conceal it… a bit… _They _were *sniff* enjoying it…These two… p-people… were people I n-never thought would do such a m-mean thing… I didn't do any… t-thing to upset them. Or did I?"

As expected from someone more used to be coherent in writing than in speech, she took a long time in coming to the point. Togami waited silently for her to unravel the tale and say who had been bullying her. Though he had a faint idea…

"P-perhaps _they_ didn't m-mean hurting me… but what they said… w-why did they have to rub my wounds… s-saying I would never be happy… that I will only… find pleasure in death… that even the one I l-love would be my victim… that I would kill even… AH!"

Fukawa's braids stood on end. She stared, terrified, at Togami's unfazed expression, holding her hands to her mouth.

"Ge_nocider Syo, they meant_" he muttered.

A timid, terrified nod came in reply. So someone in their class implied that she'd kill him...?

"Remember I already knew you and her were the same person. Genocider tried to kill me when we first enrolled… and she didn't. She stopped killing people at about the same time."

"I think she… knew you w-were kind… You… allowed me to remain-safe… never sold me to the police. But… _they_ insinuated… I would n-never be at your level… you'd find another… I'd g-give up to s-strain and… kill you…"

A harsh, mirthless laugh echoed in the library. "So I was right, after all. 'Those two' you won't name are Enoshima and Ikusaba"

Big grey question-mark eyes stared at him. "Y-you really know everything, Byakuya-sama! H-how…?"

"Because _they_ came and prodded me too, that's why…"

Noticing the rage in Fukawa's eyes, he added "They're playing a silly game, coming to bother people who steer clear of the likes of them…Don't pay them much mind. One is fickler than a flag in the wind, the other probably knows more about loading a gun than about displaying any concern for others…"

"_They_ dared… to get to bother you?! I swear I'll…"

"Fukawa, I'm no weakling in distress. Calm down, will you? Don't lash at them until there is proof they're doing it purposely."

That was saying much of the formerly cold Heir. Her eyes stared at him furiously, until Byakuya's ice shield broke open. "Crikes, you're angrier than I was when they approached me… If it serves to calm you down, will you listen to what they told me?"

Touko huffed. "It will make me angrier, I reckon."

Byakuya smirked, but it was a bitter smirk. "I'm condescending to humiliate myself by confessing something this intimate to you. But I prefer that to see your snotty sour face pitying yourself because of a couple of nitwits"

A picture of Touko's face upon hearing that statement would've sold a million copies. _Intimate… could it mean what I think it means?!_

"It comes without saying that this is a secret… This class hasn't been… nearly as nasty as I was used to, nor as plain as I had fathomed… but _this_ comes as a true surprise. Those two undoubtedly have some purpose, and until it's clear, not a word to anyone…"

Nod-nod went Fukawa's head. She was eager to know the crime. Togami wouldn't want her to lash, but she had sworn to leave a mark on whoever dared to disturb her crush.

"Well" Togami reset his glasses, not too keen to speak, but picking his words as he had been taught to "I was, as you said, _minding my own business_ – overseeing some idiot's blunder in a transaction to India – when _they_ came over. That derp Enoshima even got hold of my cellphone and turned it off… she said we had to talk"

His tone grew increasingly disgusted as he ranted that the germs would force him to buy a new Goldstriker Iphone 3G. Fukawa was a chorus of nods, finger-biting and dark mumbles.

"But I digress. Back to the point" He coughed to get back in track. "_Those two_ started speaking on what a waste it was for a good-looking male such as me" Togami scoffed audibly at the bashful compliment "to be such a disappointment for my family. Hell, they even dared ask me if I was setting high standards on purpose, just to stay – single"

Aware of her inquisitive stare, he doctorally and detachedly explained the facts. How a Heir is born, his/her obligations and the fact that he/she have to conceive several children with more than one wife... everything. Apparently, Ikusaba and Enoshima were well aware of the Togami family's tensions and quirks, and managed to anger the young Heir, as well a back him into a corner.

Once he had started, the discomfort of speaking of his family's ways with a stranger – and to a female, no less – vanished. When he arrived to the part where he mentioned he was the youngest to have won the headship, she was practically beaming at him. He hadn't seen anyone, not even his parents, to be that praiseful -or happy, for that matter. In fact, Touko didn't object at anything or act too surprised: she seemed to think it was a normal way for a rich family to behave.

"So, you see… as I'm extremely cautious of who I associate with… they were saying how disappointed would the Togami Group be with me, since I've rejected every potential candidate to – You get the picture" he mumbled awkwardly, avoiding further delving into the matter. "And that they didn't think the Group would be too happy to know I had a serial killer behind my back"

"_T-they_ know…"

"Not because I told them"

Blackmail. To have resorted to that… the two girls weren't playing. Both stood in silence for a moment. Finally, Byakuya spoke in an undertone of his usual snappy pitch.

"When is that short novel of yours coming out, Fukawa?"

"Ah! I g-gave it for review a week ago… to my publisher. So…any…time soon…" The Writer's head drooped. It was no mystery that Touko loved writing, but had a severe problem with being available for promotion.

The Heir stared at her and spoke slowly, marking his words in a no-nonsense way.

"Then half the work is done. I'll take the promotion in my hands this time around."

"Ah?! N-NO!... you n-needn't concern… you n-needn't spend your m-money in…"

"Fine. How about -I get one percent of the royalties, but I also will organize the release. Better?"

Touko's pupils voiced a silent question. That Byakuya felt he had to answer – in detail.

"Violence is not a response – much less with Ikusaba being involved. Yet I'll take countermeasures in my own way. I'm not one who'll be harassed, be it in public or in private. And I don't allow damage to _my property_, either"

Fukawa, for the second time, muted her nervous expression into a blissful display of adoration. _My property_… could it be that the ice separating them was melting?

"What I'm devising isn't going to do them any… physical harm." He reset his glasses, sassiness in his every movement. "Be grateful. You'll get to experience what a _flawless_ book release looks like this time. It will need some – sacrifices on your part, especially with the press releases and such. A little work on your part will surely ease the load for everyone." he added nonchalantly" Well, then? Deal?"

She held out a shaky hand towards his extended one. Somehow, it seemed his thumb caressed slightly her falanges, the tips of his fingers reaching for her wrist. But then, he gave a small cough of warning, and the contact ceased abruptly.

"D-deal" she breathed, blushing like a ripe cherry.

"It's settled then. Needless to say, we have classes tomorrow. Go put your gross head over the pillow, but before, wash that face of yours. With soap"

"Uh, Byakuya-sama…"

"Don't thank me… just go"

"N-no… let me… make you coffee"

"I'm fine, Fukawa." Again the undertone. "Go sleep…"

No one knows what crossed the blonde's mind. But an hour, two mugs of coffee, several pages and calls later, Byakuya Togami, too, left the library for his own room. What we know is that his face sported a certain wolfish smile.

/-/-/

By allowing Togami to take control of her book promotion, Fukawa stepped into a spiral unbeknownst to her. Despite having going through the craze of several releases, she had never, ever, felt like she was on top of a well-trained elephant, trampling over everything while rushing at top speed. The so-called Togami style was ruthless and left nothing to chance.

First, she had to hear the publisher babble his thanks from a Polynesian destination, where he was taking an unexpected vacation. Two Group employees had shown at his office with a neatly packed, brand-new luggage, his passport and a ticket for a flight departing two hours later. Touko couldn't explain it wasn't her deed, but grinned at the thought of how easily Togami had dealt with him.

Then, she received a note urging her to report to a meeting in the library. Togami's neat handwritten last remark was a command in itself: _You are the boss in command. I need you to act relaxed, no one is there to bite at you. If someone dares, report it to me and I'll see he or she pays dearly. _

Being shy and edgy, her face was usually wrinkled, grimacing at the world in diverse shades of vindicative victimism. For the Heir's plan to work, she needed to give off another image. A small group of photographers, publicists and PR people sat her in her favorite spots, filmed small segments of her everyday 'plain' routines, dressed her in some sober but classy outfits, chatted all the way while taking photos. All while respecting her requests for pauses, in a way both very delicate and un-pushy. Touko felt like a princess throughout the process.

What astonished her was seeing her face in ginormous publicities all over the buildings and walls, helicopter banners, flyers, pamphlets, baseball games… _A Trail of Thorns and Roses_ was displayed in any corner of the city one could imagine.

But what really rendered her speechless was a special release announcement - in no other place but Kibougamine. To picture its success, saying books were snatched as fresh onigiri by a hungry crowd was an understatement…

As a treat, twelve freshly printed copies of _A Trail of Thorns and Roses_ were left on the desks of Class 78's teens. Just twelve, because of course Fukawa didn't need one, Togami brushed off the thought of "calling such bubblefoam literature", and more importantly, Junko Enoshima and Mukuro Ikusaba were left without a copy.

Publishing a book was as exhausting as giving birth. Yet Touko couldn't help but thinking this was the best pen pregnancy anyone would hope for. Teens from the other classes, teachers and her own classmates were completely entranced by the book.

And when they saw her recorded video segments in the school, everyone in the class went nuts. There was a loud cheering – Ishimaru went checking that filming WAS indeed allowed within the school premises – and complimenting on how she looked onscreen. Not that the wardrobe chosen for her was flashy or anything – in fact, it was extremely sober – but seeing her outside her fuku, with her long hair down, and looking relaxed was one great change. Being, for once, the main positive center of attention, the auburn-haired Literary Girl grinned happily, while trying to meet her One and Only's eyes.

Apparently Togami failed to notice that, buried in his reading of Edward Gibbon, and wasn't bothered to lift his face to look at either the video or her. But three small details, carefully concealed, marked the epitome of his scheme's triumph, as well as his own thoughts and feelings.

One was Junko's tantrum at being bypassed in her same field –comeliness - on the same day she was staging a worldwide photo-shoot with Prada. While being left without a copy of the hottest (and outsold) book of the moment , no less.

The other was that the book he was holding bore on the cover the full title for Edward Gibbons's Roman Empire chronicle. Just that the flap was too old for a book whose pages still reeked of fresh ink and stories of a young girl in a summer adventure within a greenhouse.

And lastly, concealed in the back flap, a DVD containing her full press release was awaiting for the night to come. When no prying eyes would see him in the audiovisual room, playing it once and over with genuine amusement.

Both bookworms were solidly vindicated. But, Togami had to admit, that was one hell of a payback. By far, out of the many dished out by him, the one he had enjoyed the most in his life… It was worth the effort to see a certain Cinderella turn princess, for the eternal envy of the fashion lady and the soldier queen.

If the Roman empire was famous for punitive expeditions, then he sure was his class's Emperor. And it was doubly enjoyable if it meant that a certain surly young Roman matron had, at last, produced a smile as her offer to the gods.

To be precise, for a certain Emperor of the Ten Gods.


End file.
